The 10 Best Songs From Obama's Summer Playlist

Like all massive public figures, President Obama has an entire staff to help fine tune his public persona. So it's no stretch to believe that there are staffers in the White House who are giving input on even something as insignificant as a playlist. That said, I actually believe that a lot of this starts with Obama's actual taste.

Last week, President Obama turned 55-years-old. For his birthday, Michelle Obama threw a party, which included such guests as, Beyonce, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, and John Legend. The guy has good taste. He's said multiple times that Lamar is his favorite rapper. He's pretty consistent about these things.

This playlist minus a few hiccups (Wale?) is really good. Daytime Obama is a mix of comfort food, classics, and some uplifting funk, soul, gospel, and hip-hop. Nighttime Obama is getting down. Way down. He's smooth as hell. He can party with the kids, but he can also get all romantic with a candlelit dinner.

A few points about this list. No Kendrick!? Chance the Rapper is a great choice, but it's even cooler that he's picked an older track, rather one of his newer hits—it's basically Obama saying he listened to Chance before we did. Love all the nods to Chicago artists. Australian indie rocker Courtney Barnett is an unexpected and excellent choice, Mr. President.